Infamous Giddey scout report resurfaces in wake of all-time postseason debut
Before each NBA Draft, pundits from retailers of all sizes weigh in on the prospects destined for the intense lights of the world’s greatest basketball league.
Each participant’s sport is forensically analysed by these identical pundits, who pore over sport footage like there’s no tomorrow.
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It all results in the notorious scout studies launched within the days and weeks previous the draft as followers get all clued up on who may don their favorite crew’s jersey.
Some studies should not far off the cash, however others can whiff.
Just like Hoops Intellect’s scouting report of Josh Giddey.
Ahead of the 2021 NBA Draft, Giddey represented an attractive prospect given he didn’t come by means of the standard faculty pathway in America.
Although he was a fresh-faced 18-year-old on the time, Giddey already had a season of basketball in opposition to grown males beneath his belt because of his time with the Adelaide 36ers within the NBL.
But it didn’t cease Hoops Intellect from producing a brutal report when it got here to Giddey’s weaknesses.
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According to the channel, Giddey’s weaknesses included ball dealing with, shot creation/assertiveness, outdoors taking pictures, on-ball defence and athleticism.
Basically, as some followers joked on the time, Giddey’s weak spot was basketball.
Other analysts have been extra particular when it got here to their hesitations surrounding Giddey as a draft prospect.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie highlighted his defence as “more of a negative than a positive” forward of the draft, noting he “got blown by regularly” by his reverse quantity.
However, Vecenie additionally identified it was probably resulting from Giddey getting acclimated to taking part in skilled basketball.
Hoops Prospect’s R.C. Harris additionally famous Giddey’s relaxed taking part in fashion offers the notion he’s “disengaged” when it got here to defending.
“Too often, his hands are down, his stance is upright, and his feet are flat,” Harris wrote.
But when it got here to Giddey’s strengths, a lot of traits have solely gotten higher because the Aussie continues to hone his abilities for the Thunder.
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Sporting News’ Kyle Irving described Giddey “as true of a floor general as they come” in addition to “a savvy and flashy passer in the open floor.”
That evaluation has actually rung true as Giddey places collectively loads of spotlight reel passes, zipping the ball to all ends of the courtroom for his teammates to attain.
His ground generalship was additionally on present for the Thunder’s play-in event win over the New Orleans Pelicans as he took the sport by the horns and directed play with aplomb.
Vecenie additionally waxed lyrical about Giddey’s on-court imaginative and prescient.
“Also worth noting he [Giddey] has an utterly elite-level feel for the game,” Vecenie wrote.
“There isn’t another way to describe it. He thinks things through multiple steps ahead of the rest of the guys on the court.”
Given it’s simply his second season within the NBA, there’s loads of upside to the 20-year-old’s sport.
Although he averages virtually the identical quantity of rebounds and assists (7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 2021 and seven.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 2022), it’s the pointscoring division the place Giddey has improved.
In his first season, Giddey averaged 12.5 factors per sport however in his second season, he’s as much as 16.6 factors per sport.
As he continues to realize expertise along with his younger Thunder teammates in opposition to the remainder of the league, count on Giddey to maintain proving the draft analysts fallacious.
